Friday, May 22, 2009

Use of Voice in Training

The way in which you use your voice to talk to your dog is very important.

(1) Dogs don't understand English. I know that seems obvious but I can't tell you how many times I see people use "down" and "lay down" interchangeably. Think about how these words sound -- if you didn't understand English would you guess these commands mean the same thing. What about "sit down" does that mean to sit and than to down or to ignore the first command sit and just to down (as you would for the "lay down" command). No in this case it means to ignore the second command and just to sit. --- CONFUSING.
Make sure your sure your commands are clear and consistent.

(2) Pick words for commands that sound different from one another and make sure to emphasis those differences. You don't have to use the word "sit" for you sit command you can use "frog" your dog won't know the difference. However you do want to pick a word that you will remember. If you do choose command words that sound very similar like "sit" "stand" "stay" think about ways to say them so they sound different to your dog. I say "sit" in a fast and short tone with emphasis on the "s". I say "stAND" in a slower, lower tone with emphasis on the "AND" I say STAY in a deep, slow tone with a long "Y" sound on the end. In addition I use hand signals for each of these commands which all look very different from one another.

(3) Your tone of voice and body posture. Dogs understand body language much much better than they understand spoken language. However they can also be very receptive to our tone of voice. So use both of these elements to your advantage.

Command::: When you give a command make contact with your dog -- get their attention and make sure they are looking at you, keep your body relaxed, give a nice strong hand signal (try not to give much other movement) at the same time give the verbal command in a clear concise way.

Praise:::: If your dog responds in the desired way -- praise. Let your body relax even more, you may touch the dog in a playful way, give verbal praise in a high sweet voice what you say doesn't really matter "good dog" is classic but you can use "good job" , "excellent", "yes" whatever, your sweet high tone is what matters.
I use different degrees of praise, for routine things I say "yes" in a sweet happy way and I may touch my dogs ears in a way they like. If they do something they have had trouble with or at a time I know they are distracted (i.e. a really long down stay, a sit with a dog barking next to them) or if they do something really well (i.e. a really fast straight down with attention) than I raise my level of praise I say "excellent" (a longer word than "yes") I say it in a higher tone of voice. I usually let me dogs run around in a little circle with me or jump on me (which they like to do) or I give them a treat. Lastly if I have taught my dog something new and they are little confused but perform it right I raise the praise level yet again. I throw my hands up and sing, I run around with them, and I let them release the pressure they felt by having to think through the complicated exercise they just performed by breaking into a game of fetch or tug or whatever else they like.
What matters most is that you use a high sweet sing song tone.

Correction :::: When using verbal corrections, stiffen your body, look down at your dogs (but avoid making eye contact with them!*), say "OOPS" "NO" "AH" whatever word you choose but say it immediately when the mistake happens and say it in a low, deep, short tone. Than relax your body, get your dog back into position and try to give the command again this time give the command in a firmer and more clear way.

As you begin to eliminate constant food rewards your voice becomes critical since it is now the only way your dog knows if he is right or wrong. In order for your dog to want to work for your verbal praise alone it has to become something great that is worth getting, perhaps something that is better than food or toys.

One last thought: Be very conscience of what tone of voice you are using and when you are using it.
Example 1: If your dog is not paying attention to you but rather is staring at a dog in the other ring DON'T stand their calling his name in a sweet gentle voice -- if you do this you are PRAISING for what he is doing. Rather give your dog a command like "watch me" or "leave it" if your dog responds to that command now you can praise and praise a lot! since this was a hard thing to do, if your dog does not respond use a correction.
Example 2: If you tell your dog to heel and your dog is doing a wonderful job, for a moment or two they are in the exact place you want, don't just keep walking along silently -- they just did it and they did it well -- PRAISE -- at the very least say "great dog, wow" in a sweet way as you walk along with them but if it was really a noteworthy heel sing "hurray!" give them a treat in the right spot and pet them or even break out of the exercise and run around with them. I often run back to the spot where we started the heel and ask them to heel again -- if I get a repeat performance (meaning my dog understood what I praised him for) I will stop training for some play time.

* Avoid eye contact when correcting your dog and when training your dog or teaching something new. Save direct eye contact with your dog for praise. When you praise your dog look directly in their eyes and tell them how great! they are. By doing this soon your dog will actively SEEK OUT eye contact with you --- instant attention!

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